The Aftermath
by DoctorSweets
Summary: Set after Pain in the Heart: The way I feel Bones would have reacted to Booth's injury.
1. Chapter 1

He didn't want to panic. He held on to her. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe. He was cold. "Not a good sign," he thought, but he wouldn't let go of her. her tears were falling on his face and they kept him aware. She was calling for him, but her voice was getting farther and farther away.

"Booth! Booth, please. Don't leave me," she begged. He didn't have time to think about what it would be like to leave his son, to leave her. All he focused on was her hand, which he clenched and her gaze, which seemed to pierce through him as if she was trying to desperately seek a connection and rope him to her. She was beautiful, even with so much pain in her face. While certainly the bullet hurt as it had torn through him, the real pain was within his heart. He wasn't ready to go. He never got the chance to tell her how he felt. He couldn't leave without telling her. "Temperance, I love you. I've always loved you. I'm so sorry," he gasped and yet carefully chose to use her given name. Almost immediately, she disappeared and he was alone.

Dr. Brennan was screaming "Booth, no. Please Booth no. Don't leave me. You can't leave me!" While he had finally found the courage to profess his love due to impending death, she never heard him. His lung had deflated, refusing to let his body dispel any extra air.

He slipped out of consciousness and she began to grasp at him, desperately trying to wake him. The very moment his heart stopped, hers clenched. Its beat had become very loud and it shook within her as if it were going to break her into infinite pieces. Physical death would feel like an inviting journey compared to the loss that slowly overtook her. But as she slipped away and saw him without life, her rational self began to resurface.

She set him flat and began to press into his heart. Jack ran to them and pressed on Booth's open wound. She stopped and moved to his lips and wrapped them into hers and for a moment (however brief) she consciously felt their warmth, their softness. She was determined to fight for him and everyone in the room could feel that bold determination. Chills ran down their collective spines. They were in the presence of true love, albeit unprofessed. She breathed into him forcefully, almost commanding his body to nourish and heal itself from within. Minutes passed and he would not re-awaken. She lost track of the events as they continued. She began to only see flashes: Booth on a stretcher. Bones demanding to go with him. His blood on her hands. "Clear! Charging. Clear!"

When he was being wheeled into surgery, she had lost control of all that was rational. The ambulance had gotten there before their friends and for a moment, she was alone and in total silence. While many were walking about, she could not register them. She had turned inward, unable to really focus except on his gaze moments before his heart stopped. His eyes had always been intoxicating. She often challenged him and tried to remain unaffected by their strength and vulnerability all at once. And sometimes she had allowed herself to gaze back and get lost, especially in those moments that she really needed to feel the human connection she subconsciously shunned. On a very irrational level, she thought she could keep him alive by gazing back at him, almost challenging him to not give up. At this thought, she began to laugh and bawl at the same time. "You've really softened since working with him," she pondered. And there, in one heart wrenching, soul chilling moment, she realized what his death would mean to her and within a second, her body overtook her brain. A brain whose strength and intelligence rivaled most in the world.

Dr. Brennan fell back, knees no longer able to prop her.

Angela found her in a chair, eyes open, no tears but with a chilling look within them. Something had shifted in Dr. Brennan, as if her heart muscles had contracted with such force, that it caused every organ, every neurotransmitter, to clench as well, causing a catastrophic shift in her very core. Angela hurried to Dr. Brennan's side and quietly prayed that she would come out of this, that she and Booth would survive this. She held Brennan close, but Dr. Brennan could not react. Her mind suddenly went blank and she remained unfocused.

The surgeon came to her and began to speak. He had blood on his scrubs and looked weary. He spoke words she refused to hear. The rational scientist within was stating with certainty that he lost too much blood, he did not revive quickly enough and he could not have survived such a long surgery. She kept on and on in her mind and was jolted into focus as the surgeon grabbed her shoulder tightly. "Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth suffered severe lacerations to his lung and he lost a great deal of blood. We revived him and ceased the bleeding but he has since slipped into a comatose state. We can not be certain as to whether he will reawaken. And even if he were to do so, the oxygen that he was deprived may have affected his brain function." "He's alive," she stated flatly. "Yes." "Can I see him," she asked as if daring the surgeon to say no.

The next few days were a blur for Dr. Brennan. Countless doctors and nurses tended to him and she watched over them with a scrutiny that was so powerful that it caused them to move about quietly and carefully. Their friends came and went and yet she stayed. They begged her to at least go home and change and maybe even try to sleep but she refused to leave him. The hospital gave her scrubs and save for the few moments she used to freshen up in the bathroom, she clung to his hand. She hadn't slept in days and finally, in a state of delirium, a doctor convinced her to receive a sedative. She still refused to lay down in the provided cot. So she swallowed the pills and firmly sat in the chair she pulled up to his bed four days prior.

The nurse came to check on him and she gasped incredulously when she found Dr. Brennan asleep with her head on Booth's stomach, her hand entwined in his. She tried to wake her but the sedative was powerful. The nurse felt the connection between them and she gazed at their hands for a few moments, not realizing that her patient had finally opened his eyes. The nurse and Agent Booth were both looking in the direction of the entwined set of hands. He mumbled something and the nurse immediately focused on him. "You are a lucky man, Agent Booth. We weren't sure you would come back to us."

He tried to remember what had happened to him. All he could retrieve was Bones' face, her tears and holding on to her. "How much time had passed," he pondered? "You are going to be just fine. You are incredibly blessed," the nurse mused. At those words, he focused on the nurse. Her next words would make his thoughts reel. "That woman loves you with every bit of her heart and soul. You are a blessed man to have such a loving woman in your life." "She's my work partner," he whispered. The nurse didn't have much patience today. She had been dealing with Dr. Brennan all week so she just got straight to the point before there was any chance Dr. Brennan would awaken. "Agent Booth, I've been a nurse for thirty years. I've seen a lot of death and even some miracles. I know true love when I see it. That woman died a little the day you were shot. She hasn't left your side since you came here and if it wasn't for the sedatives we gave her, she would be jumping all over me for not having changed your bandages quickly enough or making sure I gave you the correct antibiotics or whatever else she has been monitoring 24/7," the nurse said with a satisfied smirk. She finished her work and as she headed out the door, she murmured under her breath, "these young things, too blind to see into their own hearts."

Dumbfounded, Booth was now alone with a sleeping Bones. He thought about the nurse's words, thought about having almost died, but mostly he thought about what it felt like waking up from a coma with Brennan's head atop his stomach, her hands clenched around his. He liked that she was too stubborn to let go of him, even in a medicated state.

It was a testament to her natural beauty that even after all she had been through in those last few days, she still exuded beauty in her sleep. Her lips were slightly parted and he got lost in his thoughts of touching them. They looked so soft and when he noticed how close his thumb was to them, he couldn't help but reach out and caress them. He was so happy to be alive and so grateful she was there.

Hours passed just like this. He stroked her hair, stroked her face and eventually drifted off to sleep while gazing softly in her direction.

When Dr. Brennan awakened, she was startled at the sight before her. In front of her was an empty bed. Her mind raced at the possibilities of what it meant and she began to panic, until she heard the bathroom door opening behind her. She had turned so quickly that she became dizzy and the sight of him standing kept her from falling. "Booth!" She threw her body in his direction. He caught her in his grasp and held as tightly as his wounded body allowed him. Time stood still, as it often does when pure emotion is demonstrated. He could feel her hot tears on his neck and it took all his strength to hold back the ones that were forming within him.

For two people who did nothing but verbally spar every moment they spent together, they didn't have anything to say at that moment, and so they stood in silence and motionless, other than the soft whimpers that resonated from her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"No! Please don't. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't leave me!"

Brennan bolted from her bed. The sweat clung to her while her breath escaped her. It took her a minute to remember what she and Booth had just been through. Finally, calming herself, she remembered that he had survived. "He didn't leave me," she thought and began to relax. It was dark in the room and when she finally came to her senses, she was jolted by an incessant beeping noise.

_Beep. _"That's strange," she murmured. Brennan's alarm didn't sound like a. . ._Beep. "What on earth is that? Beep. _She attempted to find the light but realized she wasn't in her room. Finally, a foreign lamp presented itself and she found the switch. "Oh my . . .where. . .what . . ."

Brennan was in the hospital. "I'm obviously sleeping in Booth's room," she thought, "that's why I'm wearing a hospital gown? An I.D. bracelet?" At that moment, Brennan started feeling a dizzying sensation. She was nauseous, her heart began to beat at an alarming pace and she felt like she was plummeting to the ground, all the while sitting up in the hospital bed. She began to rip out her I.V and all of the electrical devices attached to her body.

As the tears abandoned her eyes, she had the sinking feeling that Booth was lost forever and the woman who never believed in prayer, began to pray. . . and prayed for death.


	3. Chapter 3

_Beep. Beep._ Brennan bolts from her bed. Sweat clings to her brow. Her breathing is rampant and her blood is hot and sears through her veins. "Bones! Are you ok?"

She observes him. He is shirtless and the bandage over his chest is bloodied. "You're alive?"

"You were having a nightmare, Bones. You're ok," he states with sincere concern as he mindlessly brushes his fingers along her forehead, pushing away wet strands from her eyes. Being a woman who processes information in a nanosecond, Brennan catapults herself towards Booth's injured and bandaged body. She grabs him tightly and squeezes, unable to care that she would possibly cause him some pain in this moment. Booth winces at the pain but does not dare speak of it as his shock over her strangely affectionate behavior takes over his thoughts. She begins to shake and he feels the tears in the crook of his neck and while he hurts, he grabs her tightly and wishes he never has to let go. This is the second time he has seen her cry uncontrollably since this ordeal began and his heart breaks a little more for her. He feels a twinge of guilt because he's realized that the the bullet that pierced him seemed to have pierced through her defenses and shattered them. Brennan is left vulnerable and finally unable to compartmentalize all the emotions that she desperately sought to closet over her lifetime. It was as if she was feeling everything all at once and Booth knew that his injury was nothing compared to the pain she felt within herself.

"Booth, I can't lose you. I want you in my life always. Please don't leave," she whimpers, still half asleep, still in a dreamlike existence. Brennan's heart is broken. It's impossible, she knows, but it literally feels broken.

"My heart hurts, Booth." At this, a man who has been trained to withstand the cruelest types of torture, begins to shake at the knees at these words and he lowers her back down to her bed. "No Bones, please, I am so sorry, I am so sorry . . ," he says as his breath quivers. He is unable to remain strong for her and finally in that moment, the gravity of what has happened strangles him.

He's been shot before and he's almost died few times while he's known her, but something is different in the way that they both hurt in this moment. He tries to process it and realizes that the last year has brought them to a closeness that rivals some of the longest and most fulfilling marriages possible. It's almost as if they occupy the same space. The miracle that he explained to her, except this was a foreign miracle to him. A miracle of defying the laws of physics without actually being physical. It's almost as if their souls have intertwined in a way that to extinguish one light, would mean the almost certain emotional death of the other. Booth is dizzy from this moment and he chooses to lie next to her and he grabs her and begins to spoon her. He lays his chin between her neck and shoulder and whispers promises to never leave and promises that he's survived this and that he will heal quickly.

Her sobs begin to ebb but the tears seem to endlessly fall, quietly, gracefully. In a very Brennan-like manner, her tears are stoic and genuine, they fall in honor of his life, in honor of their partnership and she, for once, is not ashamed to deliver them to the world.


	4. Chapter 4

Brennan awakens. Her first instinct is to jump up, as her nerves have taken quite a beating the last few days. But in a moment, she feels a warm breath near her ear. Booth is asleep. She revels in this. His arm is slung around her waist and he is holding her closely, protecting her in slumber. She smiles at this. Booth is a hero in every sense of the word and his heroism even transcends his consciousness. Brennan wishes to stay like this, with Booth with his beating heart and steady breath. He had died. He had actually died and they had to restart his heart. At that moment, her heart stopped as well and it was bruised and swollen, attempting to recover from this.

She was surrounded by death every day. Death made her famous and wealthy and the moment death overtook Booth, she cursed it. She cursed the natural order of things. Her entire adulthood she preached rational thought and science, but for the first time, she turned to something intangible and something she could not measure in a beaker, as Booth once had told her. She prayed for his life, bargaining with the unknown and promising to change her life if she could just have him survive this. "How can one event shake the very core of all that I have stood for," she thought? It wasn't rational and it started to eat away at her. All of a sudden, she felt the need to bolt from the bed and get away as quickly as possible.

That's when she felt the blood on her back.

"Booth, wake up. Booth," she shook him. Booth opened his eyes and immediately held her tighter. "Five more minutes," he mumbled. Brennan giggled. It wasn't particularly funny, but Booth was bleeding on her, he was injured, and yet he acted as if this was just a normal day. "Booth, you're bleeding. I need to redress your wound."

Booth looked at her back and down at his chest. "Oh Bones, I'm so sorry. I ruined your shirt," he stated sheepishly. "It's fine, but let's get you up and redress it."

She pried herself from him and went to find the medical supplies the hospital had given him to tend to his wounds. It's funny that just a moment ago she wanted to get away from him, but as soon as she left his grasp, she felt cold, as if her body missed him immediately, as if her heart didn't beat as strongly without him. This was not an emotion or physical reaction she had ever had before. She was too independent to have ever felt it. She stopped in her tracks and willed her brain to process this revelation, but instead she decided to continue to the supplies and deal with it later.

When she returned to the bedroom, Booth was propped against the headboard. He was bare chested and despite the dribbles of blood, she was very aware of the muscles that comprised his chest, shoulders and abdomen. Booth was a fine specimen of a man. He was an alpha-male but his heart was of the purest composition and his body, well, Brennan could not argue with its perfection. He was chivalrous, without being demeaning, he was affectionate, without being greedy and he was humorous with just the right amount of cheesiness. Brennan's lack of social skills and her lack of immersion in popular culture made her unable to understand how rare Booth's existence really was in the world. She had no idea that any other woman would not believe that he existed.

Almost as if he could only exist as a fictional character in a book or in a television program.


	5. Chapter 5

If one had told Brennan a week ago that she would be looking at a half naked Booth in her bed today, she would have urged that person to seek immediate psychiatric care. At this thought, she smiled while Booth watch her carefully.

"What's so funny Bones?"

"I think it's funny that I'm looking at a very unclothed Booth in my bed." Why did she say that out loud, she thought, but then again the whole week had been utterly strange.

"Ah Bones, even wounded and bleeding, and I get the ladies all flustered," he winked.

"Booth, that is not what I meant. I just meant . ." a very blushing Brennan stammered.

"I was kidding, Bones," an all of a sudden sheepish Booth responded.

Amazing. Even after a near-death experience and a heartwrenching week, Brennan, the independent doctor could not access her feelings for the man before her.

She approached him and he scooted over so that she could sit beside him to dress his wound. Brennan's hands shook a bit and upon the removal of Booth's bandages, a barely audible gasp escaped her. She willed herself not to turn away, as she felt her eyes moisten. Booth watched her with unwavering curiousity and stoicism. He knew that this affected her deeply and while he always wished to comfort her, he wished more to know how she was feeling about the shooting . . .about him in this moment.

She carefully tended to him. Every time her hands touched his bare skin, her fingers trembled more and both of their breaths were held. Almost as if believing if they were to breathe, they would miss out on the tenderness of this moment. Brennan especially was never as outwardly affectionate as Booth, so her touch meant the world to him. He, unfortunately, has never figured out that his touch meant the same to her.

He watched as tears slid down her almost alabaster skin. He knew she was still exhausted, but her eyes maintained a spark and he marvelled at how beautiful she has always been and how untiring it was to watch her throughout the years.

Brennan cleaned the blood from his chest and abdomen. "I'm sorry that I didn't change your bandages earlier. I guess I'm not the best nurse you could have. I could call the hospital and have a nurse check up on you."

"No, Bones. I only want you to see me like this. It's my fault. I just wanted to be close to you, so my wound reopened because I held you so tightly while we were sleeping." He found courage in her silence.

Booth had survived war. He survived being a prisoner of war. But in the few moments of silence in which Brennan tended to him, Booth realized there was one thing he could not survive. Losing her. But most of all, losing her to someone else. In that moment, Booth decided to finally be honest and work towards helping Brennan understand that he loved her unconditionally.

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, placing the most tender kiss she had ever received. Without breaking eye contact, he stated "You are the best nurse, Bones. I survived because I promised I would never leave you. That's what kept me going. That is why I'm still here. So please stop apologizing about something that neither of us could control. I was shot, not because of you but because someone else chose to hurt us. It's not your fault that I was shot. It's not your fault that my wound reopened, so let's bandage me up and get some food. I'm starving"

Brennan's tears did not cease during Booth's words but upon hearing Booth's request for food, she began to laugh and her tears began to spray onto him. "Your never ending appetite . . .I guess not every thing has changed."

"Just you wait, Bones," he thought while he still held her hand tightly.

"Ugh, Booth, could I have my hand back?"

Her hand is dropped, but not before he kisses it once more.


	6. Chapter 6

She can still feel his warm, soft lips on her hand, long after it had been brought up to his mouth. She continues to stare at him with such intensity that one would think she was afraid he would disappear upon the first blink of her long lashes.

He could feel her gaze, but most importantly, he could read something clearly loving in her eyes. This one moment in his life, Booth would never change. He would gladly get shot again if it meant having her watch him like that forever.

This was the moment when it changed. This was the moment when the Gods finally intervened and tried to show these two to finally, FINALLY, let go of all their "crap" and just be honest with eachother.

Now, if only Bones hadn't just abruptly left to go get Booth some food . . .pie included.

And the Gods bent their heads down in exasperation.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sweetie! How are you guys?"

"Booth is doing very well, Ange. I'm just going out to get some food and pie from the diner."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sweetie. Stop. I'm tired of this. You know I love you forever but I'm tired. I've tried for years. YEARS! Please stop lying to yourself about Booth."

"Ange, what are you talking about," she lied. "I told you I'm getting pie for Booth. What about that makes you believe that I'm not doing well."

"Bren, you just dealt with the possibility of losing him. Babe, you can't possibly be fine. I know you love him. We all love him but you love him more than anyone could ever possibly love him. I saw it in you at the hospital. Finally, your guard was down and I hoped that if he made it through this, you would be there for him."

"I am there for him Ange. He's staying in my apartment. I'm taking care of him. That's what friends do, right? I'm getting pie. I don't even like pie but I'm trekking through rush hour traffic right now to get pie I won't even eat. I'm there for him," now she was just starting get pissed off. Suddenly, she felt exhausted, as if her mind and body had experienced every single emotion possible in a short span of time. Brennan was starting to get a headache.

"Bren, for one of the smartest people in the world . . ." she didn't finish. Instead . . . .out of nowhere . . .

"Ange, I'm exhausted too you know. You're TIRED!! YOU'RE TIRED! What about me? I never wanted this! I was happy without all of these people in my life trying to make me FEEL. I AM FED UP WITH FEELING. I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS. I CAN'T DEAL WITH YOU RIGHT NOW. HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU BRING UP POSSIBLE MATCHMAKING AT A TIME LIKE THIS. HE ALMOST DIED!! I ALMOST LOST BOOTH, ANGE! HE DIED AND ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS HOW I WOULD REGRET NOT TELLING HIM THAT I LOVED HIM MORE THAN ANYONE EVER AND YOU'RE WORRIED . . . . "

"Oh my god," Brennan thought. "Oh my god," she thought again.

"Bren," Ange whispered.

Click.

There is a point in one's life when every move, decision, step you have ever made leads you to a singular moment of inevitability. Temperance Brennan had reached that point. It wasn't what Angela said to her, per se. It was more a mixture of timing, inevitability, fate, hunger, sleep deprivation and an all out emotional roller coaster that brought her to this point.

Booth lay quietly in bed, his heart beat a bit stronger at the thought of the moment he and Bones had just experienced. He was feeling quite good and nothing could have prepared him for what came next.

"I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS CRAP BOOTH!" Bones entered irate, irrational and with evidence of tears spraying from everywhere.

"Wha . .," was all Booth could muster.

"YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME! I WAS DOCTOR TEMPERANCE BRENNAN UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG AND TRIED TURNING ME INTO A HEART PERSON. LOOK AT ME. I HAVE NEVER CRIED SO MUCH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I AM A BLUBBERING IDIOT BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"What the hell is going on?" Poor Booth.

"I COULDN'T EVEN MAKE IT INTO THE DINER BECAUSE OF THIS," She pointed a finger towards her reddened, moist face. She was a mess, but Booth was enamored and unfortunately, still really hungry.


	8. Chapter 8

"I AM TIRED OF YOU AND ANGELA ALWAYS PROBING ME, TRYING TO MAKE ME _FEEL_. WELL WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO FEEL. I LIKE THINKING BOOTH. _THINKING_. THAT'S WHAT I'M GOOD AT DOING!" Brennan was on the verge of hyperventilating as she collapsed on the opposite side of the bed glaring at her partner.

"Um," Booth eloquently mustered.

"UM? UM? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? UM?!

"Um, I, um don't know what to say," Booth sheepishly responded. He thought to himself, trying to catch up by replaying the last few minutes of his life: One minute I'm on the bed, so excited for food and pie, and now she is freaking out and I just don't know what to do with her.

Brennan stormed out of the bedroom, slammed the door and then as if all her energy had been leeched out of her, leaned back and slid her body all the way down. When Booth opened the door, he found her still leaning against it, causing her to tip backwards in an awkward fashion.

She was crying still, but all the anger had dissolved and she was just left whimpering.

"Bones." She cut him off as she held out her hand to him and pulled him down to eye level.

"Booth, I'm sorry I yelled. I told you I wasn't a very good nurse." She attempted to smile but instead just mustered a weak, what could only be called grimace. As she gripped his hand fiercely she explained, "I just. . .I just. . . This is hard for me. You forced me to like you, and after all these years you became such a big part of my life, that when I thought you were dying. . . it's just really hard. I've been independent my whole life and I never thought I would ever be able to love anyone after my parents left, because it's not easy for me to trust people with my heart, so . . ."

"IjustwantedtosaythatIloveyouBooth." The words escaped her with such velocity, that Booth could only respond with a "what?"

"I love you." Where on earth did she find the courage, she did not know, but she finally said it . . . to an actual person.

One minute Temperance Brennan was pouring her heart out and the next minute she felt the wind get sucked out of her as a very muscular man had pounced her, pressing his lips to hers with such passion, that her mind was unable to catch up with her body's humming.

Injured or not, Seeley Booth could kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Temperance Brennan had researched many human societies and activities in her study of cultural and biological anthropology. She learned that, above all else, no matter how different, the human species was not a solitary one. In fact, humans always seek out connections with other humans, especially in times of great sadness or great elation. Dr. Brennan had always been aware of this imperative, and yet she had always sought a solitary life, almost as if immersing herself into her own culture would somehow make her a less than unbiased observer.

Yes, she had researched for most of her life, but in the moment Seeley Booth's lips crashed upon her own, she decided it was MUCH better immersing yourself instead of standing by and watching others live their lives.

There was something very pleasant about the way his lips moved about atop her own. His breath was sweet and his tongue warm. His hands roamed around her and she felt heat everywhere. He was marking her, branding her if you will and she met each kiss, each caress, each moan equally to ensure that he did not stop his wonderful assault.

At some point, Booth had found himself almost completely on top of his beautiful anthropologist. He continued to taste and nibble at her, afraid that if he stopped she would realize this was something she did not want. He was afraid that she would run from him. So, in his mind, if he kept going, she wouldn't have time to react.

Alas, another biological imperative of the human condition, is the need for oxygen. When their lips parted, with an overly zealous smacking sound, time stood still once more for them. The term gazing is beckoned often when writing about true lovers, however the way in which Booth and Bones stared at each other in that moment lacks an existing description. While she never believed in telepathy or soul mates, the way in which they communicated with a glance was nothing short of a miracle. Their breathing patterns staggered as they tried to regain some semblance of normalcy, as the electricity that coursed through their contact was overwhelming for both of them.

"That was . ."

"Amazing," she grinned. "Why didn't we do that sooner?"

Booth glanced downward. He knew why. He created that stupid line in a moment of weakness and sadness. He should have known better than to draw that linear barrier between them. He knew that she was so literal that she would have always envisioned it as if it were something real, rational and tangible.

"I wish I had never drawn that line, Bones. Biggest regret of my life. We could have missed out on this," he pointed back and forth between them.

"Humans act on emotions, Booth. Rationality isn't pursued by most of our species. Self-preservation, however, is innate in all of us. Maybe you were trying to protect yourself from me. I've never presented myself as the ideal mate, a mate with whom you could procreate and ensure the survival of our species."

"Bones, no that's not why I drew the line."

"Why did you then?"

"I drew it because I loved you from the moment I met you and I knew that you were very serious about being taken seriously in your profession. I was afraid that you would reject me on that basis and my heart couldn't take it. So I did do it to protect myself from you, but not for the reasons you just stated. I'm not looking to procreate and ensure the species' survival. I just want to be in your life and I don't want any other man to be closer to you than me."

"Booth, I am sick of being closed in and I am exhausted from running. I don't want to run from you. I just want to be here with you, always. And I'm not the same person I was when you met me. My fear of having children was a defense mechanism. If I convinced myself I didn't want marriage and children and made everyone else believe the same, then I thought I could protect myself from feeling pain."

"Sweets would be so proud of you."

Her smile momentarily turned into a scowl. And then that smile he has grown to survive off of returned.

And they kissed once more.


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh my God, Angela!"

"Not what I'd expect to hear when making out," Booth stated.

"No, Booth, I just remembered I yelled at Angela and then hung up on her. I have to call her and apologize."

"Why did you yell at her?"

"Because she kept pushing me to admit my feelings for you and I snapped. I know it was an irrational reaction, but I'm not used to accessing my feelings and emotions. In addition, I believe that my lack of sleep and my heightened stress levels caused my brain to suddenly shmtmdkhg," Brennan mumbled as Booth pressed his lips once more to hers. He was finding this a great way to silence her anthropological musings.

"I wuv you boof," she sighed into his mouth, his lips pressing urgently against hers.

He pulled away, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He grabbed her into a tight hug and held her close, thanking God that he was finally given a chance with her. That he was finally given a chance to live a life that completely fulfilled him. She held onto him tightly, clenched her eyes shut and took in his scent and the warmth of his body and sighed at the sound of his very live, beating heart.

"Ang, I'm really sorry about yelling at you."

"It's ok sweetie. I know I push hard sometimes, but you know it's because I love you. I promise I will never mention you and Booth as a couple again. It'll be really hard, but I will try to never meddle again."

"Thanks Ang." Brennan tried to suppress her grin. "Why don't you stop by and the three of us can watch a movie together?"

"I'd love to. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I was already on my way to your house when you called, to check on you."

Click.

"Bones, that's just mean. We are finally together, and you won't even tell her after all these years of her attempted matchmaking?"

"I think this will be funnier. I want to surprise her." Brennan walked to the door, unlocked it and left it wide open for Angela.

"So, Agent Booth, where were we?" She purred seductively.

Booth was the most caring and thoughtful person she had ever met, and yet she knew that no matter how chivalrous, Booth was still a man, so her seductive tone caused him to completely forget about Angela. And while Brennan was in the top percentile of IQ in the world, she, at the very core, was a woman- a woman who was incapable of remembering her friend's impeding arrival, as the perfect male specimen began to devote a great deal of attention to her very female form.

Angela approached Brennan's apartment with an armload of freshly popped, buttery popcorn that she picked up at the local movie theater. She anticipated arriving shortly after Brennan's call, but decided to take the detour to the theater where she discovered a very long, annoying line.

Half an hour later, she made her way to the apartment. She heard very loud and heavy breathing coming from the apartment. She figured Brennan was forcing Booth to watch one of her racier movies, and giggled at the prospect that Booth would be completely horrified to be watching an explicit scene sitting next to his partner. One day, Angela hoped, Booth and Brennan would discover their love for each other, but for now, Angela knew she made a promise. And she would honor it because that was the kind of person she was.

Angela finally made it to the door and looked straight at the television, which she noticed, was completely turned off. As she lowered her line of sight to the back of the couch, she stood dumbfounded at seeing the back of Booth's head with the front of Brennan's face moving back and forth with eyes clenched and an expression of pure, unadulterated . . . .well you get the picture.

No one knows what exactly occurred first: the sound of three large bags of popcorn falling to the ground, covering it in a buttery mess or the sound of an earth-shattering squeal.

Whichever came first didn't seem to matter to Booth and Bones. They were in the process of achieving a miracle. :)


End file.
